Meg, Queen of the Nile
by Deramis
Summary: After the movie ends, Meg and Herc decide to take some time off in Egypt, with surprising results.
1. Default Chapter

Meg Queen of the Nile  
  
(A story that takes place soon after the movie ends. It's been up on my web site for quite some time, so forgive me if you've already stumbled across it. I just found this forum and decided it would be best to post it here, seeing as I've given it some updates and plan on finishing it soon. :) Tell me what you think!)   
  
Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to disney. Except Cleopatra, who belongs to the Egyptians I guess, or to the Romans, but we're not going to get into that.   
  
Chapter 1  
  
Megara walked into the kitchen with the morning paper and tossed it on the table infront of Hercules.   
  
"Megara hooks the most eligable batchular in Greece", she read aloud from the headlines. Hercules smiled up at her. "Hercules meets his match", she continued,"last night the great hero broke the hearts of millions of girls all over Greece, when he announced his soon-to-be marriage with Megara." Meg folded her arms and grinned as her fiance picked up hte scroll and continued reading.   
  
"Everyone's wondering how you managed to snagg me", Herc laughed after a few seconds. " It was easy", Meg teased,"You got engaged to the first woman you met!" Hercules blushed,"Could I help it if the first woman I met was the most beautiful in the world?" He put the paper on the table. "Aw! I love you too", Meg laughed, jumping onto his lap. Herc wrapped his arms around her and kissed her check. He held up her left hand, revieling a sparkling diamond. "It's beautiful", She whispered. Meg thought about how happy she'd been over the last few months with Hercules. She stared into his big, blue eyes. "I love you Meg." They started to lean in for a kiss when the door to Hercules' villa swung open. "Phil!", they exclaimed at the same time. Meg jumped off of Hercules' lap, blushing.  
  
"Yeah yeah", the satyr grummbled,"Save it for the honeymoon." Herc and Meg gave eachother a look. Phil always had a way of ruining their romantic momments. Meg held up her fingers. "We were this close", she laughed, "we're getting better." "Have you guys seen da mornin' news scroll?" Phil asked, waving the paper infront of them. "Yeah, we have", Meg said," I made the front page!" "Well read a little further", Phil told them. Herc picked up the news scroll again and started reading the next page. Phil read from his copy,"Does getting married mean settling down for Hercules? Is it his wat of saying he's lost his taste for the "hero's life", or has he just lost his touch?"   
  
Hercules laughed,"Don't pay any attention to this, Phil. It's just some rumors invented for gossip." "Rumors travel fast, kid! Especially in Thebes!", Phil said angrily,"We've gotta get you some publicity!" "Phil, that isn't what being a hero is about anyway." At this Phil's face turned red with anger,"Just leave the publicity to me Herc! I've been in this buisiness far longer than you have,I think I know what I'm doing!" "Phil, I didn't mean to-" "Just come on, Kid. Your gonna be late for your meeting with the king. You've got a full schedual today, and I'll see what I can squeeze in to tomorrow's schedual to clear up that mess in the paper!" 'I've got a full schedual everyday',Herc thought to himself.   
  
Megara had been standing, her hands on her hips, listening to the whole conversation, and getting madder by the minute. She wished he would loose his taste for the "hero's life". Hercules was hers and the people of Thebes saw more of him than she did. Suddenly married life wasn't looking so good anymore.   
  
Hercules stood up and started to attatch his cape. "No!", Meg shouted, pushing him back down. She had let them argue long enough. "Meg!", Herc said,"What's gotten into you?"   
  
"I'll tell you what! Never getting to see you! Being left her alone everyday! Gods Herc! You don't get home till three in the morning!"   
  
Herc and Phil just stared at her, startled. "Um...why don't you go ahead,Phil,"Herc finally said, I'll be out in a second."   
  
"Meg", Herc said when Phil had gone,"I know you don't get to see me that much, and I'm sorry, but you have to understand-"   
  
"I'm trying to understand, Herc! I know it's your job to be a hero and help everyone, and I know you like doing it, but is this the way it's gonna be when we're married?....sigh Herc, I don't want to spend my nights wondering if you'll come home alive or not! I-I can't do it."   
  
Hercules felt terrible; he held her hands in his. "I promise things will be different when we're married,"he said," To tell you the truth, I'm not crazy about all the publicity stunts anyway. They've become more of my job then the actual battles. I'll cut down on the appearences and the meetings, but I still have to protect Greece."   
  
"I understand", Meg said slowly,"will I get to see more of you?"   
  
"Of course."  
  
"Why can't we start now?"  
  
Herc smiled,"I'm late, Sweetheart, we'll talk about it when I get home."   
  
'How late will that be?' Meg thought.   
  
Herc got up and kissed her cheek,"I have to go. I love you."  
  
Megara didn't say anything. She sat down at the table and watched her hero walk out the door.   
  
The door to Hercules' Villa slowly opened, and a very tired and brused Hercules tiptoed in with only one thought on his mind: Meg's gonna KILL me! It was II o'clock in the morning. Hercules had had a run in with a cyclops and his giant brother on his way home, but now the real battle was about ot begin: facing his girlfriend. He knew how upset she had been when he left that morning, and now he was about to get what was coming to him. Before he walked into the living room he practiced his "I'm sorry" face which, unfortunatly, he had to use too often. He came into the living room with an apoligetic smile only to find Meg curled up in an arm chair, fast asleep, and a cold dinner-for-two sitting on the table in the kitchen. Hercules breathed a sigh of relief. He untied Meg's sandals and set them on the floor. Then he gently lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom. After getting changed himself, he pulled the covers over her an kissed her forehead. "I love you", he whispered. He climbed into bed beside her and fell asleep.   
  
"Megara...Meg."  
  
Meg groaned and opened her eyes. She glanced at the sundial. "It's 6:30", She complained. "Get dressed", Herc said, pulling her out of bed.  
  
"Why?", Meg asked, "I'm tired! I stayed up till 1:00 waiting for you since you said you'd be home early".   
  
"I know", Herc smiled,"I found you on the chair." Meg got dressed, but she was getting annoyed. "Herc, you said we were gonna talk! I made dinner for you last night and then I had to throw it away! Now your rushing off to work at the crack of dawn. And if your going to leave I'm just gonna go back to sleep anyway, and-" "Shhh", Herc pressed his finger to her lips,"I'm taking you somewhere we can talk."   
  
"what?", Meg asked, confused, "What are we doing?"   
  
Herc smiled,"Playing hookie."  
  
"But won't your-"  
  
"My Nanny goat will just have to deal with it." Megara smiled slyly at him and nodded. He was starting to learn. He took her hand. "Come on. Before Phil and Pegasus get here." They got about half way down the hall when there was a loud knock at the front door. "He's early,"Herc groaned, "Come on, out the back." But when they got to the back door they found Pegasus eating his breakfast right outside. Hercules leaned agianst the wall.   
  
"This is rediculous!", he sighed."I can kill a lion with my bare hands, but I can't even sneek out of my own house!"   
  
"That's when you need a pro", Meg smiled. There was another knock at the door as Meg grabbed his hand and yanked him into the bedroom. "Come on, out the window."   
  
"The Window! Are you nuts!?"   
  
"It's only VI feet up", she opened the window and motioned for him to climb out "You first."   
  
Hercules paused,"You've done this before?"   
  
Meg had a smirk on her face,"I used to do it all the time."  
  
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!!!",Phil was standing on the coffee table yelling at the top of his lungs. Hercules was sitting on the couch with his head down. Megara stood beside him, arms folded.  
  
"I had to cancel everything you had to do today!! Your lucky no monsters decided to show up!"  
  
"I...I was keeping my eyes open", Herc offered shyly.  
  
"OH YEAH? Well I got two words for ya: EXTRA PRACTICE TOMORROW!"  
  
"That's three words you idiot!" Meg mummbled under her breath.  
  
"And you've gotta appoligize to everyone for not showin' up-"  
  
"ok, ok, I'm sorry. I just needed a break."  
  
"Herc! I told you, If your gonna need a break, tell me three weeks ahead of time!"  
  
"It was my falt", Meg interupted, "I helped him sneak out the window."  
  
"YOU SNUCK OUT THE WINDOW!?!", Phil boomed, "That's it Herc! She's a bad influence on you!" Herc saw Meg's eyes narrow and he put up his hand to stop her from uttering any sarcastic comments he knew she had ready.  
  
"Come on Phil", Herc said, trying to ease the tension,"We had to talk."  
  
"If that's alright with you, master,"Meg snapped.   
  
"We're gonna be married soon; I can't just leave her everyday." There was a pause. Herc swallowed hard, thinking about his next sentance. He knew how Phil would react to what he was about to say, but despite the effort, it came out a little stuttered as usual. "W-we've...decided to, um, t-take a vacation." He waited for a second,"Somewhere away from Greece. Egypt maybe."  
  
"Yes, ya see! Now your thinking!", Phil said. Herc looked confused. This was not the reaction he had expected. "We need to expand you horizon", Phil continued,"This will clear up that mess in the news scrolls! I'm sure there are plenty of monsters in Egypt."  
  
"Um, Phil?", Herc said,"When I said we, I meant Meg and I."  
  
"Alone?",Phil asked in disbelief.  
  
"Alone."  
  
'Five...four..three...two...one', Herc thought to himself. At this Phil's face turned bright red. He made a kind of sputtering noise which usually meant that he was too angry to think of anything to say. There it was. The reaction Hercules had been expecting. It took Phil a second to recover before he started yelling again.  
  
"NO WAY! ABSOLUTLY NOT!"  
  
"We need time together!"Meg hissed. Phil knew he was fighting a loosing battle. He knew that being a hero wasn't everything to Herc anymore, and it was rather depressing for him.  
  
"When, exactly do you plan on leaving for this...vacation?",Phil asked as calmly as possible.  
  
"Well..", Herc and Meg looked at eachother," We were thinking of leaving some time in the next week or two." "Be specific!", Phil yelled.   
  
"How does this weekend sound?", Herc asked.   
  
"Wonderful,"Meg said. They smiled at eachother and held their gaze a second.  
  
"Alright alright alright! Knock it off!", Phil ordered,"You can leave this weekend, but until then you gonna work you butt off (ya bum) No flying on Peg, and NO dating on the job! Got it?"  
  
Herc had his head down,"I got it."  
  
"Good. Now get to bed kid, it's late."  
  
Meg tried not to laugh 'yeah right' she thought. But her bottom jaw almost hit the floor when Hercules got up and headed for the bedroom. "I don't belive this! He's eightteen years old and your still grounding him!"  
  
Herc blushed a little and sat back down. Phil snarled at Meg. She started to say something, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. "Oh! We're leaving friday!", she said as she stomped off into the bedroom. "sigh Men!" 


	2. Chapter2

Again, none of these characters belong to me. Disney owns all of the Hercules characters and the rest belong to histroy. And with that, on with the fanfic!   
  
Chapter 2:   
  
"Are we there yet?", Herc mummbled, half asleep, from the back of Pegasus.   
  
"Almost sweetie",Meg answered. They had been flying for about 7 hours now. Meg was sitting in front of Hercules, his arms still lightly around herand his head resting on her shoulder. She looked down at the vast expansion of desert below them . Feeling her stomach turn, she shut her eyes and quickly lifted her head up. "I gotta stop doing that",she sighed. The hight was making her nervous, especially when Herc was asleep, and the hot afternoon sun wasn't making the trip anymore comfortable. 'Oh well', she thought, 'At least I'm getting a good tan.' She smiled at the thought and glanced back at Hercules. His copper-tone muscles would definatly take her mind off the hight.   
  
Turning back around, she saw the sharp top of a building sparkling on the horizon. As they moved closer, the point moved higher and higher above the sand dunes, until, suddenly, an entire city of gold and sandstone expanded out in front of them. Meg's eyes went wide. Each building seemed to have a golden sparkle in the sun. Buildings of every size, in shapes that she had never seen before. Tall, black towers that came to a point and had strange writing on the sides, rose from each corner of the city. To the far left was a valley, dotted with pyramids, and large statues of kings and gods were everywhere. And in the very center of it all, rose a tall, shimmering palace made of polished marble, and trimmed in gold.   
  
"Hercules!", Meg gasped.   
  
Hercules awoke with a jerk. "W-What?", he asked, sleepily running his fingers through his hair. Meg grabbed his shirt to keep him from falling off of Pegasus.   
  
"Look!", she whispered.   
  
Pegasus took off into the sky, leaving Herc and Meg waving to him from the ground.   
  
"Bye Peg,"Herc called Alone at last, Hercules put his arm around his fiance. The whole city was layed out infront of them, waiting to be explored. "What do you think?", Herc asked,"Better than Thebes?"   
  
Meg laughed,"Where's our hotel, Wonderboy?"   
  
"Um, I forgot"   
  
"Hercules!" she put her hands on her hips.   
  
"Really, I forgot!"   
  
"Hercules!",She gave him a slap on the arm, "Tell me!"   
  
"Alright, alright!",Herc laughed, He took her hand and started walking toward the hotel.   
  
"I wanna freshen up before we go out again," Meg said. "Yeah, ok", Hercules had his eyes on the palace that could be seen over the tops of the buildings."I wonder if that's where Cleopatra lives." "Really? Cleopatra?", Meg asked,"...I wonder if we'll get to see her."   
  
They walked along the sand-paved streets until the road abruptly stopped and marble steps began. The steps ran up to the base of a large,marble building. A sign in front read:The Golden Lotus Hotel.   
  
"Well..."Herc said, still looking up, "This is it."   
  
"You're kidding! This is ours!?"   
  
"Sure", Hercules smiled "Come on." Meg looked up at the hotel,"I feel underdressed."   
  
They walked in through the front, their sandles clicking on the lobby floor. Maroons and golds highlighted the crystal shandeleir on the ceiling Herc approached the front desk,"A...I'm Hercules. I sent a letter for a resurvation."   
  
"Ah, yes,"said a snobbish man behind the counter, " You must have been the one who sent it Hermes express. We've been expecting you." He snapped his fingers and a bell hop came for their bags. He handed them a key from the rack on the wall. "Room #428", he pointed to the stairs.   
  
Herc handed the key to meg as they ascended the steps,"You'd better hold on to it." Meg smiled ,"Good idea."   
  
Their room was a penthouse with a beautiful view of the Nile. The sun shone through the window onto the rich golden highlights in the room.   
  
"Wow! Check out the bed!", Meg smirked. She flopped down on it,"King size". Herc jumped onto the bed beside her."I'm hungry"   
  
"I'm not surprised. Let me get ready and we can find a place to eat lunch."   
  
"Ok",Herc's eyes fell on a large basket on the table as he sat up."What's that?" He went over and opened the envelope next to the basket of exotic foods.   
  
"Your fame has exceeded you from Greece and your visit has been much anticipated. Your pressence is requested by his majesty the King in the royal dining hall tomorrow night,"he read aloud.   
  
Meg raised her eyebrows,"Are you going?"   
  
"Well, Yeah, why not? Don't you want to?"   
  
"Me? Well...I wasn't exactly invited, but..I did want to meet Cleopatra," Meg smiled.  
  
Hercules and Meg walked down the street hand in hand, sightseeing and looking for a spot to eat lunch. The busy streets were full of shoppers, fire eaters, and people trying to solicit them at every corner. Meg already had gotten a souvenier tiara and a little snow globe with a cat inside, and Hercules had one of those huge pairs of sunglasses.   
  
"Wonderboy, look at that!", Meg pointed to a man sitting on the street corner taming a cobra. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned to see Hercules dangling a rubber snake in her face. "OH! Where did you get that stupid thing?"   
  
"Over there", Herc laughed," Come on, there's a resturant up ahead and I'm starving!" Meg laughed and ran ahead of him.   
  
"This is nice", she sighed. They were sitting at a quiet table outside the resturant waiting for their order. " We can actually walk around in public without being clobbered by sex-crazed teenie boppers!"   
  
"Yeah", Herc agreed,"No screaming fans. Just you and me."   
  
Meg smiled, and just as they were about to kiss there was a loud scream from around the corner. Hercules looked up as there was another sceam from the croud: "A Griffin! A Griffin! Help! Someone!"   
  
They could hear the Griffin as it crashed through the streets. Herc looked longingly at the croud. He couldn't just ignore the all of those people. He looked at Meg, barely able to stay in his seat, but waiting for her permission.   
  
"Oh Herc. You promised!...sigh Go on!".   
  
"Are-are you sure?"   
  
"Go!"   
  
Hercules ran down the street. "Be careful!", Meg called after him. She slumped back in her chair. sigh "Not a moments peace."   
  
"Are you sure that's her?"   
  
"Positive! She's grown her hair out, but that's her alright!"   
  
Two muscular egyptian men stood in the shadows whispering. A few feet away Meg could be seen sitting at the table alone.   
  
"Come quickly," the first man whispered,"While no one will see."   
  
"The king will be pleased", said the second. The two men walked out behind Megara. The first man grabbed her arm.   
  
"What-", Meg whirled around to see the two huge men infront of her. "Excuse me, big guy, is there something you want?!" She yanked her arm from his grasp. "Come, your highness," the first one said,"We must return to the palace."   
  
Meg stared at them for a second before she burst out laughing,"This is a joke, right? Did Herc put you up to this? Very funny. Hey, incase you haven't noticed, there's a griffin on the loose; you guys had better get out of here." The second man grabbed her with more force,"The change in your appearence does not fool us, your highness. Your father is waiting for you."   
  
"It is to your benifit that you have returned to Egypt," said the first. Megara's smile faded,"What are you talking about? Look, I don't think you've got the right person here!"   
  
"You should not have been so bold as to wear your crown in public."   
  
"What? This thing?" Meg yanked off her tiara,"It's plastic! Look, I-" The two men grabbed her and tried to pull her away. "Hey!" Meg yelled,"Let me go! Wonderboy! Herc-"   
  
A cloth came around her mouth and suddenly everyhting went black. The two men caught her as she collapsed to the ground, and put her in a large basket which they covered and carried down the street.   
  
Dum Dum DUM! To Be Continued! Well I'd better get to work on the next chapter:D Email me and tell me what you think. 


	3. Chapter3

Thanks for the review, kk- I admit im not a very good speller, and the computer I'm working off of doesn't have spell check- sorry about that.  
  
All of these characters belong to Disney except Cleopatra and Mark Antony.  
  
The sun was just beginning to set and the crowd began to dissipate from the town square. Hercules, sweating and out of breath, ran back to the table where he had laft Meg. He stopped short when he saw that the table was deserted. His eyes searched the streets but there was no sign of her. "Meg?", He called,"hmm...She must have gone back to the hotel."   
  
Hercules caught a chariot back to the hotel and ran up to the room. knock knock knock "Meg?"   
  
There was no answer. "Oh, she's really angry, he muttered as he fumbled through his pockets for the key. Suddenly he remembered that he had given their only key to Megara. knock knock knock "Come on, Baby!...I'm sorry!"   
  
Of course there was no question that he could've knocked down the door in two seconds flat, but that would only make Meg more angry. Not to mention the mess it would cause with the hotel.  
  
sigh He slumped down infront of the door. "So much for the king-size bed!"   
  
Meg's head was pounding. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the blurry outline of a room tilted on it's side. "Oh Gods", she mummbled in a scratchy voice. The room slowly turned right-side-up as she sat up and put both hands to her head. Meg tried to remember where she was or what had happened to her, but nothing was registering.   
  
"mmm", she ran her hands through her hair, but they stopped short at her shoulders. "What the?" Her vision suddenly became clear as her eyes popped open, and she began frantically feeling for the rest of her hair. Meg reached down and picked up a lock of her beautiful curls with trembling hands. They were lying all around her on the bed in little scattered piles.  
  
"......aaaAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"   
  
Hercules awoke with a sudden jerk. It was morning, He had slept outside the door of the hotel room all night. He groaned and stood up, turning toward the door. "I think she's taking this a bit too far," he mummbled. knock knock "Meg? Are you awake?"   
  
"Can I halp you, Sir?"   
  
Herc turned around, startled, to see one of the hotel maids staring blankly at him. "Um ahem I'm kinda...um...locked out."   
  
"Oh, well I could go see if the front desk has another copy of your key."   
  
"Really? I mean-that would be great" Herc wondered why he hadn't thought of that before, but it must have slipped his mind. In a few minutes the woman returned with the key and let Hercules into the room. Alone in the suite, he ran into the bedroom to look for Meg. "Meg?" The bed was made and there was no sign of her. "Meg?" Herc searched every room but she wasn't there. "How did she get past me this morning?" Her changed his clothes and made breakfast but Meg still didn't return. Sitting at the table, he fumbled with the invitation to dinner before he realized what it was. sigh "I'm going to have to go tonight wether Meg's back or not."   
  
Two servents came running into Meg's room. She was huddled in the corner of a large red velvet pillow that served as a bed.   
  
"What's going on in here?" One of the servents asked. The other girl was carrying some cloth and she walked over to Meg.   
  
"M-My hair!" Meg found her voice. "It's alright, we cut it while you were asleep. Now that you're back, there's no reason to have a disguise."   
  
"I'm glad you're awake, highness, I have your old clothes for you." The second girl said as she walked over to Meg with the clothes.   
  
"Get away from me!" Megara slapped the clothes out of her hands. "Oh." She leaned back against the wall holding her aching head.   
  
"But you must put them on your highness.", the girl said, unfazed,"The king wants to speek with you. We cannot let him see you in that horrible Grecian dress."   
  
"What's wrong with my...sigh" She was in no mood to argue. "You want me to see the king?"   
  
"Of course majesty"   
  
"Well, alright then. He'll set this straight! And stop calling me majesty! My name is Megara." Meg stood up. The cold hard marble floor was uninviting and she stumbled back a few steps feeling lightheaded. The girls helped her get her balance and dressed her. After they had dressed her and done her make-up they told her to wait in the room until the king was ready for her.   
  
Alone in the room, Meg finally had a chance to servey her surroundings. There was no question that she was in the palace. The room was large and cold with marble columns on either side. The red velvet bed was draped with gold and red curtains and on a table across the room were elaborate bottles that she could only assume were perfume. There was one window and one door and a tapestry hanging on the opposite side of the room.   
  
"The king would like to see you now"   
  
Meg looked up, startled. A large man was standing at the door waiting to escort her. She walked through long hallways decorated with eiry pictures and tapestries. Finally they reached a large room at the end of a corridoor. The dome ceiling was plated with gold and in the center, on a thrown, sat the king. Megara was placed before him, but before she could speak two men camed foward.   
  
"Where did you find her?" The king asked. He had a deep, echoing voice. "She was in the square" the men answered. Megara shot up from where she was sitting. She recognized the men as the ones who kidnapped her.   
  
"That's them!" She shouted, pointing,"Those are the ones who captured me!" Everyone was silent. "She's obviously disoriented" a servent girl finaly said,"she's still insisting that she's some Megara person."   
  
"Wha? What are you talking about?! Aren't you going to arrest them?!"   
  
"Of course not!" The kings voice shattered the confusion. " These are my guards. I ordered them to find you."   
  
"You!?" Meg exploded, this was about all she was going to take of this. "What kind of opperation are you people running here? I got you invitation, for the love of Zeus, if you wanted me here early why didn't you just ask me?-" "You mean you would have come willingly?" Meg was shocked. "Of course! It's not as if you were going to do something terrible to me...well, I didn't think so anyway."   
  
"Well you are going to be punished. This is the third time you've run away."   
  
"I never-"   
  
"Please your highness", one of the men interupted, "try to cooperate."   
  
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Meg screamed. One of the guards grabbed her to calm her down. "Get your damn hands off me you big ox!!"   
  
"Enough!" The king ordered.   
  
"Please, your highness, I don't think she's well." One of the girls explained.   
  
"Oh she knows exactly what she's doing!" the man argued.   
  
"I SAID...enough." The king turned to Megara."How do you feel?"   
  
Meg looked at her clothes and back at the king. "Like a peacock."   
  
The king sighed. "I've had just about enough of your games, young lady. It's obvious that your upset and not ready to cooperate. I want you to go back to your room and rest and we'll discuss your punishment later."   
  
"What in Hades are you talking about?!! When my boyfriend hears about this you'll wish you were never born!"   
  
The two men grabbed her once again,"She's crazy! Give her a sedative." A woman approached her with a needle.   
  
"NO!" Meg screamed and began struggling.   
  
"STOP!" The king yelled,"How dare you assume responsibility over my daughter!"   
  
"Your daughter!?! No, you don't understand! I'm just here on vacation!"   
  
"Take her to her room!" The knig waved his hand and three servents dragged her out of the thrown room screaming words that are too baad to write on papyrus. The king shook his head."This is by far the worst sharade she's ever tried to pull! She's been in Rome too long. Do you think she would actually get Mark Antony to strom the castle? ...What am I going to do with her?"   
  
The door slamed behind her as Meg was shoved into her room. She ran back trying to get out, but she could hear the lock turning. "No! Let me out!"   
  
She looked around frantically for another way out. There was only the window. She walked over and flung it open, gasping as the whole city spanned out infront of her. She must have been at least twenty stories up. "Oh Gods." She flopped down on the bed. There was no way out. Hours passed and Meg lay on the bed without sleeping. "They think I'm the princess!" She kept thinking,"Me! A princess? That'll be the day." She stared at the ceiling thinking of Hercules, and began drifting off. Just then there was a crash near the window. Meg twitched and opened her eyes. It was dark except for the light of the moon shining through the open window. The outline of a person could be seen climbing in. Without speaking, Meg stood up and reached for the oil lamp on the table. Slowly she walked toward the figure who seemed preoccupied with sneeking throught the window.   
  
"Who's there?" Meg whispered.   
  
"AAH!" The figure screamed and straightened up, turning toward Meg.   
  
"AAH!" Meg screamed back and turned the lamp up.   
  
"AAAAAAAAHH!" They both screamed at the sight of eachother. And then, for a few silent moments that seemed like an eternity they stood there staring. Both with their mouths open in shock. It was like looking at a mirror image. 


	4. Chapter4

DISCLAIMER: All of these characters are the property of Disney except Cleopatra and the egyptian crew. They belong to Egypt I suppose.   
  
Who....who-who are you?" They both said as if they were trying to catch their breaths. The two girls circled eachother, eyeing eachother suspiciously.   
  
"Wait a minute!," Meg exclaimed," You're Cleopatra! This is all you're fault!"   
  
"My fault!? I am a princess of Egypt, and I demand to know who you are and...what you are doing in my dress!"   
  
"...Your dress?...Your DRESS!?! In the past two days I have been drugged, stuffed into a basket, mistaken for a princess, yelled at, man-handled by your STUPID guards, and had my HAIR CHOPPED OFF!!! Now why don't you ask yourself if you honestly think that I give a shit about YOUR DRESS!!!"   
  
"...OK, so clearly there has been a mistake."   
  
Meg folded her arms," Your damn right there's been a mistake." She muttered through clenched teeth.   
  
"You will not talk to me in that manner!"   
  
"sigh Look, Miss Thang, I'm tired and I'm not really worried about what manner I'm speaking to you in. I'm suposed to be on vacation." Cleopatra didn't know quite what to say. She had never met anyone that wouldn't kiss her butt before. "Now I don't know where you've been,"Meg continued,"but it obviously wasn't attending to your royal responsibilities."   
  
"Oh what do I care about my royal responsibilities? And, not that it's any of your business, but I was in Rome. My boyfriend, Mark Antony, is the emperor there, and my father doesn't exactly approve of the relationship."   
  
"Well, given the fact of what happened to your last boyfriend from Rome, I don't blame him."   
  
Cleopatra clenched her fists in anger.   
  
"AND, as long as we're on the subject of boyfriends, my fiance, Hercules, is probably looking for me right now."   
  
"Hercules? Your from Greece then."   
  
Meg sighed. How many more times did she have to say it? "Yes, might I reiterate, we're on vacation."   
  
"hmph, Well that explains why you don't like my dress."   
  
"What?"   
  
"Oh come off it. It's probably better than that Grecian thing you had on."   
  
"What does everyone have against my dress?," Meg wondered aloud.   
  
"I mean, admit it, Rome and Egypt are much more civilized."   
  
"Oh come on! Rome?! Those god-stealers wouldn't know a river from a public bath and you know it."   
  
"Well, alright, the public nudity is a bit much, but what's wrong with Egypt?"   
  
Meg snorted,"Well for one thing the architecture is all wrong."   
  
"What?! I'll have you know that Egypt has some of the top builders, and one day we are going to be a wonder of the world."   
  
"OK, keep telling yourselves that. But the triangle thing? Never catch on."   
  
"Those are Pyramids! And there's one dedicated to me being built right now," She lifted her chin high,"When I die my soul will be among some of the greatest pharoahs in the Vally of the Kings. Even my servents will be burried with me."   
  
"Alive?"   
  
"Of course"   
  
Meg knitted her eyebrows,"Well that's kinda morbid."   
  
"Yeah, well, that's the way it goes."   
  
Meg shook her head,"Listen, it's been great chatting with you, but if you don't mindI'll just grab what's left of my things and be on my way."   
  
"Wait," Cleopatra snapped out of her daze,"you can't!"   
  
Meg stopped short,"Excuse me?"   
  
"You can't leave."   
  
"Well why not!?"   
  
"I want to go back to Rome, and you're going to cover for me."   
  
Meg's bottom jaw dropped. "I most certainly will not!"   
  
"But it's perfect! You look exactly like me, even my father couldn't tell the difference! Think of all that we could do! I could go off with Mark Antony, and you, you would be royalty!...And, if that doesn't appeal to you, I'll just call the guards. They'll have you arrested and you'll be executed for impersinating a princess."   
  
"That's ridiculous! It was all a huge mistake!"   
  
"The royal court doesn't make mistakes. They'll say you're a spy."   
  
Meg thought to herself for a minute..."Is that so?" She walked over to the vanity and began changing into her night clothes and spraying herself with fancy perfumes.   
  
"What are you doing?...Those are my things!...You obviously don't mind it here...Why didn't you escape out the window?"   
  
Meg paused,"Acrophiobia."   
  
"What?"   
  
"I have a fear of hights," Meg grummbled.   
  
"Oh", She watched as Meg fiddled with her things, but when she tried on her gold snake necklace it was about all she could take. "Stop already! I demand you give me back my night clothes at once!"   
  
"Oh, I don't think that will be possible. You see, I am the princess here,"Meg smirked. Cleopatra was furious. She lunged at Megara and grasped the gold chain around her neck, yanking it off and leaving it broken on the floor.   
  
"GUARDS!" Meg screamed.   
  
"What!? What are you doing!?!"   
  
"GUARDS!!"   
  
"STOP IT!" Cleopatra demanded.   
  
"GUARDS! COME QUICK!" Two men came crashing into the room. "This spy has been trying to impersonate me!" Meg shouted, pointing her finger at Cloepatra,"She snuck into my room while I was sleeping and attacked me!" The identical princesses and the broken necklace were all the proof the guards needed. They grabbed Cleopatra by the arms.   
  
"NO! STOP! I'm Cleopatra! I'm the REAL princess!"   
  
Meg put a hand to her chest and threw her head back as if she would faint,"I was afraid for my life!"   
  
"SHE'S LYING!" Cleopatra screamed.   
  
"Save it for the jailor! It's off to the dungeon with you!" the guard said. They dragged her out of the room kicking and screaming. "Would you like me to stay, your highness?" a third guard asked.   
  
"No," Meg replied, fixing her hair,"I'm alright now. Thank you for saving me. You can return to your post now."   
  
"Yes your highness."   
  
The guard left closing the door behind him. sigh Meg smiled to herself,"Another stirring performance by Megara...Princess Megara." 


	5. Chapter5

Chapter 5:  
  
Disclaimer: All of these characters belong to Disney except Cleopatra, Mark Antony, and the Pharoah. (which I like to call the 'king' sometimes too, so bare with me.)  
  
"No no no! I wanted white lotus blossoms! Those are yellow!" The king waved his hand at the servants, "Get those out of here." He slumped back in his chair, putting a hand to his head.   
  
"Your Majesty!"   
  
The king jumped, "Yes! Yes?"   
  
His royal advisor charged into the room. "Everything is going as planned. This came for you this morning." He handed him a parchment with a Roman seal.   
  
The king knitted his eyebrows as he read through the letter. "Mark Antony is coming to Egypt," He finally said.   
  
"But sir!"   
  
"Sigh Set another place at the table. I don't want him with my daughter, but I don't want a war either. I'm sure that Hercules won't mind sharing his honorary dinner with another acclaimed hero.... Tell Cleopatra that she will remain in her room an hour before dinner and will return there immediately following desert. At no time is she to be alone with Antony."   
  
"Yes your Majesty."   
  
Meg was pacing back and forth in her room, fiddling with her hands nervously. She had managed to put the princess of Egypt in her own dungeon, but what was she going to do now? A loud knock at the door startled her. "C-come in."   
  
A servant entered with a tray and some food and wine. Meg took it eagerly. It was the only food she had laid eyes on in two days.   
  
"Your Highness, your father would like to remind you that Hercules is joining us for dinner tonight." Meg gasped, dropping the glass bottle on the floor and spilling red wine over the white marble tiles.   
  
"Oh! Are you quite alright highness?"   
  
"Oh, um, yes." Meg tried to compose herself. She quickly knelt down to clean up the pieces of broken glass. The servant girl jumped to clean it, looking at her strangely. "You haven't been acting like yourself since you came home."   
  
Meg stood up, quickly realizing her mistake. "Oh, well...I really don't think that is any of your business. Now what were you saying about dinner?"   
  
"Yes, well it seems that Mark Antony will also be joining us, and your father has given strict orders that you are not to leave your room an hour before dinner and to return to you room straight after desert has ended."   
  
Suddenly Meg knew exactly what she was going to do.   
  
The view was dim from the corner of the dungeon cell. Horrible noises and screams could be heard from around the corner. Every once in a while a muscle bound guard would come down the hall eyeing the prisoners. Cleopatra sat huddled on the dirty floor, shivering. Her sheer dress was nice for the palace life, but it wasn't very practical for a dungeon.   
  
"Back! Back!" The jailer yelled as he came down the hall. Cleopatra jumped and peered through the darkness like a frightened mouse. A hooded figure walked next to the jailer, and they stopped outside of her cell. The keys jingled and the door opened.   
  
"Call when you want out." The hooded figure walked in and the door banged shut behind it.   
  
"W-who are you?" Cleopatra scurried to the opposite end of the cell. "Please, don't hurt me!"   
  
"Relax," Megara pulled her hood down and revealed herself.   
  
"YOU!" Cleopatra jumped on Meg and pinned her against the wall.   
  
"Mmph!" Megara struggled to get her off.   
  
"What's going on in there?" The guard called out.   
  
"She-" Cleopatra was cut short by the sharp dagger that was held at her throat.   
  
"Everything is fine," Meg called back, "Now, you're gonna shut up and act like everything is just peachy, got it?" Cleopatra nodded. Meg pushed her off of her and hid the dagger in the folds of her cloak.   
  
"Why do you have that!?" Cleopatra gasped.   
  
"Why do YOU have it? I found it in your room."   
  
"Hmph! To protect me from people like you! Why are you here? You've already gotten rid of me. What else do you want?"   
  
"I didn't want to get rid of you. I just want to get out of here. Besides, you didn't give me much choice, ya know. You were gonna have me executed! Now if you listen carefully, I can get you out of here."   
  
"You-you're here to help me then?"   
  
"No, I just came all the way down here to gloat," Meg said sarcastically.   
  
"Oh. Well.... I'm sorry about the whole execution thing."   
  
Meg raised and eyebrow, "No problem."   
  
"You um, you never told me your name."   
  
"It's Megara. I'm here with Hercules and he and Mark Antony are coming to a big dinner at the palace tonight!"   
  
"Antony!? My father would never let him near me!"   
  
"Well, um...he thinks he's preventing a war. I may have gotten him confused with the whole angry boyfriend thing."   
  
"Oh no. Antony is probably coming to see me."   
  
Meg knitted her eyebrows. "Why is your father so against Mark Antony? Doesn't he thing that an alliance with Rome would be helpful?"   
  
Cleopatra snorted, "I do! I've been saying for years that and alliance would make Egypt and Rome more powerful, but after Caesar was killed...they both needed a little more convincing." She sighed, "The Romans think that I had something to do with Caesar's murder, and my father thinks that I'm being framed in a plot to take over Egypt... If I could only speak to Antony."   
  
Megara was suddenly seeing Cleopatra as more of a diplomat then a snotty little rich girl. "If I can find a way to talk to Hercules alone, then we could fix this... but it's not going to be easy. Your father has me restricted to my room."   
  
"The tapestry on the far wall. There's a door behind it. Slip Hercules a not at dinner that tells him to meet you outside."   
  
Meg smiled, "See, I told you we could make this work. You'll be out of here soon. In the mean time, stay put, and try not to act like a princess." She motioned for the guard; "I'm ready now."   
  
"Oh, Megara? Thanks."   
  
"Call me Meg." She pulled the hood back over her head and winked as the jailer opened the cell door and left Cleopatra alone again. 


	6. Chapter6

Chapter 6:  
  
Disclaimer: All these characters belong to Disney except the egyptians. The storyline is copyright by me. Thanks  
  
The music poured down the hallway and drifted into Cleopatra's room. Megara was standing at the doors ready to join the big dinner. As she walked into the dining room surrounded by servants, the light shimmering off the gold on her dress, a nervous thought ran through her head that this was the most stupid thing she had ever done. Suddenly the large polished table full of exotic foods came into view and she caught site of Hercules.   
  
"Now tell me about the Nemian Loin," the king was saying, raising a glass. Hercules opened his mouth to say something, but he looked up as Meg came into the room.   
  
"Ah, Cleo!" The king motioned for her to sit down, "Hercules, this is my daughter, Cleopatra." Megara took a seat across from Hercules. It looked as though he hadn't slept in a day or two. She stared intently into his blue eyes, trying to make a connection.   
  
"Pleased to meet you," Hercules said, politely taking her outstretched hand. Meg had to fight the urge to throw her arms around him. Under all of the Egyptian make up and the new hair cut he obviously hadn't recognized her. Suddenly Meg realized the presence of intense black eyes glaring at her from under a head of bushy black hair. Judging by the purple Roman toga, this was Mark Antony. He flashed her a handsome smile and kissed her hand lovingly.   
  
"But the Nemian Lion! My favorite labor to hear about," The king began again as the first course was being served.   
  
Meg looked up and down the table trying to think of what to do. Hercules hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she'd sat down, but on the other hand, neither had Antony. Meg's eyes narrowed and a smirk spread over her face. Hercules had turned his attention back to the king, but he jumped and turned back to Meg as he felt her foot brush against his leg. Meg held her gaze, but Herc was sitting there looking disturbed like he was too afraid to say anything. He looked around, a bit confused, as someone who seemed to be Cleopatra was putting the moves on him.   
  
Finally Megara grinned at him as she felt his feet return her invitation. But her smile quickly faded when she realized that the foot belonged to Mark Antony. He was staring wickedly at her from across the table. Meg cringed and returned his affections with the leg that wasn't busy with Hercules. This was getting ridiculous! She couldn't let Mark Antony think that she wasn't Cleopatra.   
  
Meg was now in an awkward sort of straddle position under the table, and what made it worse was that the king was going on in his usual droll about Hercules, or the building of some pyramid.   
  
Occasionally Megara would have to add in a comment like, "Yes, father," or, "isn't that interesting?" Hercules wasn't as good at sounding relaxed as Megara, because whenever the king would ask him a question he'd grumble a confused, "um, yeah" and try to add in the fact that he was engaged.   
  
Finally Meg moved her foot higher up Herc's thigh to spark his memory, and apparently that wasn't all she sparked, because Hercules jumped out of his chair and announced that he had to use the bathroom, leaving Meg alone with Mark Antony. 'This obviously isn't working,' Meg thought to herself. She decided to take Cleopatra's advice and scribbled a note on her napkin:   
  
Meet me in my room  
  
after dinner. 3rd Door  
  
on the right.  
  
When Hercules got back she waited for him to relax a little before kicking him and thrusting the note under the table.   
  
"Ouch!"   
  
Before she knew it Meg felt two hands under the table and the one that grasped the note first was Mark Antony. He had obviously seen her write it. Megara slapped a hand to her forehead. She should've signed her name!   
  
"Headache, sweetheart?"   
  
"Huh?" Meg asked startled.   
  
"She hasn't been well," the king explained, "Perhaps you should retire to your room."   
  
"I'm fine!" Meg protested, "I-I wouldn't want to be rude to our guests."   
  
"Very well, if you're alright." He raised a hand at the cook, "Bring the desert."   
  
After desert Megara saw her chance. The orchestra began to play and a few lords and ladies got up to dance. The king got up with a tall woman dressed all in gold leaving only Meg, Hercules, and Mark Antony at the table.   
  
"May I have this dance?" Mark Antony asked.   
  
"Well, I would love to, but I haven't yet danced with the guest of honor." She extended her hand to Hercules, "It would please me greatly."   
  
Hercules timidly took her hand while Antony slumped back in his chair looking a little put out. But just as they had set foot on the dance floor, and Hercules was protesting that he wasn't much of a dancer, one of Cleopatra's serving maids tapped her on the shoulder.   
  
"You remember the king's orders, your highness. To your room "directly" after desert."   
  
"But!" Meg tried to think of an excuse, but the servant was pulling her out of the room faster than she could think (which was pretty fast) and Hercules was left on the dance floor looking bewildered and a little relieved.   
  
Megara sat on the bed in Cleopatra's room feeling extremely depressed. She had lost what was possibly her only chance for freedom. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Meg jumped to her feet. She had forgotten all about Mark Antony! He was her only hope now.   
  
"Antony?" Meg whispered as she opened the door a crack.   
  
"Oh my darling!" Antony managed to mutter as he pushed through the door, embraced Meg, and passionately kissed her all in one quick motion.   
  
"Mmmm!" Meg struggled to get him off of her.   
  
"You were very clever at dinner. Not attracting any attention to us. I almost couldn't sneak in here." He said between kisses, "Your father is keeping a close watch on me."   
  
Antony backed Megara, who was still struggling, against the wall and they both sank down onto an ottoman. "Apparently he thinks I might do something ungentlemanly," he laughed sarcastically. He reached down and started to pull the top of her dress off and Meg's hand slapped him hard on the cheek.   
  
"OW!" Antony pulled away and put a hand to his face. "What the hell did you do that for?!"   
  
"To get you off me, slick! I'm not Cleopatra!"   
  
"...Ooh! This is the game you played on your father! Tricky tricky! They all think your nuts." He put both hands on her chest and leaned in to kiss her again.   
  
"Dammit! Would you think with your brains instead of your balls for just one second!?" She put her foot on his stomach and kicked him off of her.   
  
"Mmph!" Antony gave a little laugh, "Cleo! Come on!...Playing hard to get, it's very sexy. I promise no one will hear us." He reached for her again and, panicking, Meg did the first thing she could think of and kicked him in the groin. "I'm NOT Cleopatra!"   
  
Antony gave a scream of pain and collapsed in a heap on the floor. "Holy shit! You're telling the truth aren't you?!"   
  
"What was your first clue?"   
  
"Well, actually it was that Cleopatra would never have that good of an aim," Antony squeaked.   
  
Meg smiled sympathetically. "Are you alright?" She extended her hand, "I'm sorry I kicked you, but you didn't give me much choice."   
  
"I-ahem I'm fine," Antony took her hand and struggled to his feet. "Mind explaining who you are?"   
  
"The name's Megara, call me Meg. There's been a big mistake."   
  
Meg explained everything while Antony stood there gaping at her in disbelief. "And you just happened to look exactly alike?" He finally said after Meg had finished.   
  
"I guess. I've never met her before in my life."   
  
"That's extraordinary!"   
  
"Yeah, and it's creepy!"   
  
Mark Antony sighed, "Well that would explain the way you were looking at Hercules tonight."   
  
"Yeah," Meg smirked, "Not to mention what was going on beneath the table."   
  
Antony blushed a deep scarlet, "Ooo, sorry about that."   
  
"Yeah, well weirder things have happened since I've been here."   
  
"Alright….look, we can't tell anyone who you are, they might have you executed…we've got to get you out of here quietly. Anymore tension between Egypt and Rome could ruin everything that Cleo and I have been working for...Leave Hercules to me. I'll explain everything to him. In the meantime, we've gotta find a way to get you and Cleo to trade places."   
  
"Well that's the easy part. Once I'm in the dungeon Hercules can rescue me, and you and Cleo can get back to Rome. But you'd better be careful, Egypt doesn't exactly trust Rome anymore."   
  
"I know. After Caesar's death Rome has been restless for war. The people are urging me to conquer Egypt and gain power. I'd hate to think what they would do if I weren't there to reason with them."   
  
Their talk was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. "Cleopatra? Are you in there?"   
  
"It's the king!" Meg gasped, "Quick, out this way." She pulled back the tapestry revealing a door.   
  
"Don't worry," Antony assured her, "I'll get you out of here."   
  
Meg smiled, "Thanks Antony, I owe you one."   
  
"Cleo? Who are you talking to in there?"   
  
"Please, go quick! If he finds you here we're done!" Antony nodded and disappeared through the darkness. 


	7. Chapter7

Chapter7:  
  
Disclaimer: All of these characters are property of Disney and are used without their official permission. Except for Cleopatra and Antony who are Egyptain, or my own personality creations.   
  
Hercules lay on the bed unable to sleep. It had been two days since he had last seen Meg; he was starting to get worried. And the disturbing event at dinner wasn't helping any. Who does that princess think she is? Well…the princess, granted, but he should have done something. He was engaged for Zeus' sake!   
  
Herc shook his head, " I should go look for Megara," He said out loud, putting his mind back to the matter at hand. He sighed and got up, walking through the darkness and stumbled over one of his sandals. Grabbing the nightstand to get up he shook it a bit and a small glass vase fell out of the open window. "Why am I such a clutz?" He thought angrily to himself.   
  
Just then he heard a voice from below. "Hey!" Hercules jumped up and looked out of the window to see a man looking up at him. It was Mark Antony, and he had little bits of white glass and flower petals scattered in his jet-black hair. The rest of the vase was lying on the ground next to him in pieces.   
  
"Hercules! I'm coming up!" and before Hercules could protest he had disappeared into the front lobby.   
  
'Nice going, Herc!' he thought as he slammed the window shut, 'you almost killed the emperor of Rome!' But now there was a much more frightening thought. Antony had obviously seen Cleopatra come on to him at dinner! - If that's what you could call it. He'd never blame it on her…rich people are strange that way. He would just explain that he meant nothing by it, and that he was already engaged…but Antony would never believe that he had dropped a VASE on him by accident. 'I'm going to be crucified!' Herc thought, 'That's what they do to people in Rome!'…He knitted his eyebrows and considered Antony more carefully…"Yeah" he said (as if there were any doubt) "I can take him."   
  
There was a knock at the door. "I-I'm coming," he looked frantically around the room for something, he didn't know what, and then, clearing his throat, he opened the door. Antony stood before him, still with bits of the vase in his hair, but he didn't seem to mind. He was about a head shorter than Hercules, well built, and he had an essence of extreme power about him although he couldn't have been much older than Herc.   
  
"Hercules. I've got to talk to you," he said smoothly.   
  
"Oh – I," he let Antony inside, "Look, I'm sorry about um-"   
  
"Oh, don't worry about it, it's not your fault."   
  
"Huh? No, it is my fault, but it was an accident. I really didn't know you were there."   
  
Antony knitted his eyebrows, "Well it was obvious that I was, but the point is that it's no big deal."   
  
Herc sighed, "Oh thanks. I don't think it'll be too much trouble. It wasn't very valuable."   
  
"Wasn't very valuable!?" Antony sounded a bit offensive; "Of course she's valuable!"   
  
"What?…Um, are we talking about the same thing?"   
  
"What are you talking about?"   
  
"The vase."   
  
Antony laughed "I'm talking about Megara!"   
  
"Megara! You haven't seen her have you? I – I really need to talk to her…" He paused and looked a bit confused, "Why would that be no big deal?"   
  
"Well because of dinner."   
  
"Oh- hehe- that's the other thing I wanted to apologize for. You see there's nothing...between Cleopatra and I." Antony was trying not to laugh, "Of course there isn't! Because that wasn't Cleo."   
  
"What?…Now I'm really confused"   
  
Antony put his hand on Hercules' shoulder; "You'd better sit down. There's something I need to explain."   
  
The next morning was annoying as usual. Meg was awoke by three servants who insisted on dressing her and doing her make-up, and three more fixing her breakfast. The dish was something unspeakably green that looked like soup with bits of leaves in it, but Meg figured she'd better eat it, she'd need her strength. Then again, how could prison food be any worse? She waited a while after the servants had gone. She wasn't sure when Hercules would come for her, but it would have to be some time that night if they wanted to sneak away quietly. Meg sat down at the vanity and scribbled a note, which she slipped into her dress pocket. She put on the pair of gold-colored slippers at the end of the bed and went to the door. She cracked it open and peered out into the hall, and was about to leave when she heard someone coming. Quickly she pulled her foot back into the room and looked through the cracked door to see the king and his royal advisor walking past her room.   
  
"Damn," Meg whispered as she closed the door. She would have to sneak out through the tapestry again. If she had listened a bit longer, she would have heard the royal advisor telling the king that it would be wise to publicly execute the look-alike prisoner as a warning to Rome.   
  
Meg snuck out of her room and down the cold dungeon steps, realizing that this was the last time she would wear Cleopatra's soft slippers on her feet.   
  
A guard stopped her. "This is no place for you, Princess."   
  
Meg held out her hand revealing the small piece of parchment. She had to come up with a different excuse to see Cleopatra this time. "My father wishes for me to deliver this message personally."   
  
The guard seemed suspicious; "…What does it say?"   
  
"Well if I told you then it wouldn't be personal, now would it?" The guard grumbled and let her pass. She walked through the long, dark row of cells, and prisoners crying out their innocence to her, till she came to Cleopatra. Another guard let her in to the cell and went back to deal with the noisy prisoners.   
  
"Quick! We don't have much time," Meg ordered. She helped Cleo up off the dirt floor and pulled off her golden dress and slipping on Cleo's tattered one. She fluffed Cleo's hair a bit. "There. Now smile, you look more like yourself again smirk."   
  
"That was the easy part," Cleo answered, sounding worried, "I hope Hercules comes for you soon."   
  
"Everything is going according to plan. Gasp The guard is coming back!" She took Cleo's hand and whispered a good luck. Then, suddenly remembering the note, she grabbed it out of Cleo's dress pocket and slipped it into her own just in time. Cleopatra smiled and then left without a backward glance. The guard locked the prison door, and Megara pulled the cloak over her head and retreated into the shadows.   
  
"Breakfast!!!" the guard called and shoved a try of bread at Meg's feet. She jerked herself awake and stared groggily at the tray of stale bread before pushing it to the side. She was wrong; prison food could be worse then the green stuff. Herc would be here soon wouldn't he? Then she could eat real food and sleep in a real bed, not this dirt floor. But what if Antony had not gotten him the message? What if he hadn't really believed her all along? "Oh, what's taking him so long?" Meg grumbled.   
  
Just then she heard the two guards coming towards her cell. They stopped at the door to get her uneaten breakfast, laughing to one another.   
  
"Yeah, she's another one," said the first guard, "A spy from Rome! She's the sexiest spy I've ever seen!"   
  
The other guard laughed. It was the same one that had tried to stop her from getting in last night. "Of course she's sexy! You should try her!"   
  
The first guard's eyes widened, "You mean you?"   
  
"Yeah I did!"   
  
"When?"   
  
"Ha! Last night! When I had the midnight shift!" he lied, "It was like a fantasy with the princess!"   
  
The two of them laughed. Meg could feel the anger rise up in her, they wouldn't dare say that if the King, or even Cleopatra were here! And even though she knew she should hold her tongue, she mumbled under her breath, "That's impossible!"   
  
"What was that!?" the guard ordered.   
  
Meg quickly surpressed her anger. "I said that's impossible," she said coolly.   
  
"Oh yeah?" the first guard challenged, "And why is that so impossible?"   
  
Meg stood up and walked confidently to the bars, "Well, first of all, I'm engaged. And second of all, I don't fuck losers."   
  
The first guard burst out laughing at his friend, but the guard who had been boasting went red with anger and embarrassment. He jerked the door open and yanked Meg out by her wrist.   
  
"Ow!"   
  
"I'll teach you to hold your tongue around authority!" He shoved her at his friend. "Take her outside and whip her!"   
  
"No!" Meg screamed and struggled against the muscle bound guard. He dragged her down the long corridor. The prisoners on both sides were yelling and banging mettle cups against the bars.   
  
Meg was thrown out of a back door and fell to her knees on the dusty orange dirt. She squinted and shielded her eyed against the sudden burst of sunlight. The guard lifted her up again and pulled her roughly through the thick humid air to a wooden post, where he tied her hands.   
  
For a long moment she heard nothing but silence, and then she heard the guards heavy footsteps as he returned and the crack of a whip as it came down hard on her back. Meg gasped and bit her lip. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't! He whipped her again and again, ripping through her dress. She bit her lip so hard that she saw a drop of blood fall to the dirt and quickly released it, clenching her teeth. The whip came down again, and this time it broke the skin and she cried out. Finally it was over.   
  
Meg was yanked up and lead back into the prison cell with tears streaming down through the dust on her cheeks. The other prisoners were silent except for anxious whispers; she could hardly walk. Why did she have to open her big mouth? They shoved her back into her cell and she scurried into the corner, pulling her knees to her chest and tried desperately to go to sleep, but her back was throbbing, and she heard a guard say, "No matter, she'll be executed in the morning."   
  
Finally alone in the darkness, she swallowed hard, trying to surpress her tears. 'Herc would be here soon. Herc would be here soon."   
  
To be continued 


	8. Chapter8

Chapter 8:  
  
"Good luck, Hercules," Antony whispered as he lead him around the back of the palace gate. There were two guards he'd have to get by first. No problem. But after that?   
  
"Now remember, this has to be a covert operation, so you have to be as quiet as possible."   
  
Herc raised an eyebrow at him cynically. "Um...Antony? I don't know if you've heard of any of my other 'adventures', but I don't really do covert. - In fact, most of the time it ends with alot of yelling and a few buildings being knocked down."   
  
Antony laughed. "Sounds like me in bed." This comment only got a mild look of confusion from Hercules, so Antony clapped him on the shoulder and recapped the plan. "Don't worry, just knock out the guards, steal a uniform, and walk right into the prison to get Meg. You two sneak around front and meet me- where we discussed, remember?- and I'll get you on a ship headed back to Greece." Hercules nodded. "For all they know, Meg just escaped in the night, and Cleo and I can get back to uh...stopping this war."   
  
"Alright," Herc sighed, "I'll try to be quick...but be careful and keep a lookout. If anything goes wrong we'll have to fight our way out of here."   
  
Antony nodded. "Alright. The blackbird will be flying south during the winter. Over and out."   
  
Herc blinked. "Why are you talking like that?"   
  
Antony blushed slightly. "I-Its code...like the soldiers use?...Sorry, I'm just excited. Emperors don't usually get to do this kinda thing."   
  
Herc had to fight back a laugh as Antony left to go to his post. "The bird flies south..." Herc repeated and shook his head. He emerged from their hiding place and had no trouble knocking out the guards and stealing a uniform that was a bit small on him. Taking a deep breath, he entered through the gate and down towards the prison.   
  
The prison was located at the very back of the huge palace, and opened to a large space between the palace and the gates in the huge wall that surrounded the whole place. This gate made it easy to bring prisoners in and out without disturbing palace life. It also made it easy for Hercules to get to it. No one noticed the completely guilty look he wore as he approached. They only noticed his uniform. Uniforms are a funny thing and sometimes have that effect. There were guards swarming the place. Only two were actually guarding the door to go into the prison, and they let him in without question. Inside there were two more playing cards and keeping an eye on things... At this point, Herc really wished they'd arranged for some kind of distraction.   
  
Antony made his way quietly around to the place where he would meet Hercules. He wondered what Cleopatra was doing at this very moment. Did she know what was happening as she sat up in her room? He paused to look up and try to find her window, and just as he was beginning to wonder if she might be worrying about him, someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him out of the bushes.   
  
"Well, lookie what I got!" the guard announced. "I bet the Pharoah would be mighty interested to know what the emperor of Rome's doing sneaking around at this time o' night!" He promptly held a knife to Antony's back so that he couldn't struggle, and lead him off towards the prison gate.   
  
Hercules gulped as he approached the two guards that were playing cards.   
  
"Uh...excuse me..."   
  
"What'cha need, kid?" One of them asked gruffly without looking up from his hand. Herc rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Kid? No one had called him that since...well, ok, the last time he'd seen Phil. Still, it was a bit unnerving.   
  
"I uh...I was sent to 'take care' of that spy you've got locked up."   
  
The guard raised a suspicious eyebrow. "She's not being 'taken care of' till the morning. The king sent orders to make it a public execution.   
  
"Oh...I mean I know...but uhh...she might need something...or have a last request..."   
  
"-We don't give prisoners luxuries, boy. What exactly are your orders?" Both men were staring at him now, and Herc was all out of ideas.   
  
"Well...They're top secret actually...can't let this get out. You'd better come a little closer." The guards looked at eachother, and as soon as they leaned in curiously, Herc knocked their heads together and they passed out on the card table. Herc sighed, "So much for that." He snatched the keys off of one of them as the prisoners went wild. Herc ignored them and hurried down the dark hall to find Meg. When he stopped at her cell he found her huddled in the corner. "Meg!" He whispered and she looked up, eyes wide, till she saw who it was and ran to the door.   
  
"Oh gods, Herc!" He opened the door as fast as he could, and she fell into his arms, in tears, dropping to her knees and taking him down too.   
  
"My gods, Meg, what did they do to you!?" He cupped her face in his hands gently and made her look up at him.   
  
"I...they..." She gasped, not really knowing where to start, she said the only thing she could think of: "They cut my hair!" She sobbed, grabbing the now curly ends with her hands. Herc blinked and knit his eyebrows at her.   
  
"Oh..." he wipped some dirt off her face with his thumb. "It's alright. You look beautiful."   
  
Meg shook her head and sniffled, then she hit him weakly on the arm. "What the hell took you so long?"   
  
Herc laughed, glad that she was more herself again. "I'm sorry. I'll never be late again." He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.   
  
"-Don't-" Meg gasped, recoiling. Herc looked at her, confused, then concerned suddenly, and made her look up at him again.   
  
"Meg, what's wrong?"   
  
"I..." She bit her lip. "They whipped me pretty hard, Herc...my back..." She could see the anger build in his eyes, but he just clenched his jaw and nodded to her.   
  
"We gotta get outta here...can you walk?"   
  
Meg nodded and they stood together, although she was still in pain. "How are we-?"   
  
"We're sneaking you out the back as my prisoner and Antony-" He was cut off when the prison door burst open and a guard came in carying Antony.   
  
"Hey! I've got another-" He stopped, seeing the scene- Two guards knocked out on the table, prisoners banging at their cell doors and yelling as Herc and Meg stood like deer caught in the headlights. "What in the name of Anubus is going on here?!"   
  
Herc's eyes widened upon seeing Antony, and he looked back to Meg. "Looks like the plans have changed."   
  
To be continued...   
  
Disclaimer: Meg and Herc are property of Disney, all rights reserved. Antony and Cleo belong to me I suppose. 


	9. chapter9

Meg, Queen of the Nile  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Don't move a muscle!" The tall, sandy-haired guard who was holding the unconcious Antony drew his sword at Hercules and meg. "Just what do you think you're doing?" He stepped closer, and Herc saw his chance- He pushed Meg behind him as he stepped up and grabbed the guard's wrist as he raised his sword. The guard screamed as his wrist was twisted the wrong way, and he promptly dropped his sword- and Mark Antony. Meg went to Antony and tried to wake him while herc knocked out the fifth palace guard that night.   
  
"Get him up!" Herc called to Meg as three more guards, hearing the mayham, had appeared at the door and were calling their friends. This was turning into an all out brawl.   
  
"He's out cold!" Meg yelled back, but Herc was in the midst of the fight. She gave a low growl and smacked Antony on the cheek. "Come on, Antony. -Ugh! Why is it everytime we meet I'm smacking you around?" She shook him a bit and he finally opened his eyes groggily. "...Cleo," he grinned when he saw her. "I was having a dream about you."  
  
"Yeah, save it for Oprah. We're in deep shit!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
She turned his head towards the fight.   
  
"Quick re-cap! I'm Meg, that's Hercules, you're Mark Antony, and now we run!"  
  
Antony nodded and stumbled to his feet. Hercules threw two of the guards against the wall with a crash and ran back to Antony and Meg. "We've got to get out of here- in a minute there'll be too many of them!"  
  
And he was right. The guards were swarming into the prison now, and began to surround the three of them, pushing them back towards the stairs that lead to the palace.   
  
"Looks like we go up-" Antony shouted over the noise as Herc threw guard after guard out of the way. The three of them turned and ran through the door, slamming it shut behind them. Herc put his back to the door, holding off the guards. "Do you know a way outta here?"  
  
"Cleo knows better than I! I have to get her out of here with me now-"  
  
"Take Meg and hurry- I can't hold them back much-" He was cut off as an axe came crashing through the door, just missing his head.   
  
"Herc!" Meg screamed and pulled him away from the door.   
  
"Go! Go!" He pushed them off and Antony grabbed Meg's hand and took off in the direction of Cleopatra's room.   
  
"Grrrrrahhh!" A crystal vase smashed into the wall of Cleo's bedroom. "I cannot sit by and watch while the fate of two countries crumbles before me!" She paced back and forth for the fifteenth time before slumping down on the bed. "Not to mention 3 innocent lives," She mumbled to herself. It had been a whole day since Megara had switched places with her in the prison cell, and all she had done since that time was lock herself in her room and check out the window for any sign of what might be happening. Gods forbid something went wrong and Hercules didn't get there in time. ...She wished she could do something to help, but any movement on her part would provoke suspicion.   
  
Cleo was jarred out of her thoughts by a swift knock on the door. "Not again," She sighed as she got up and went to the door to unlock it. Her father had already visited her twice today to 'check in' and ask about the party last night. There was another rushed knock. "I'm coming!" As soon as the lock was lifted the door burst open and to her surprise it was Megara and Antony who came tumbling in.   
  
"Antony!"  
  
"Cleo!"  
  
"Megara!" Meg gasped her own name dramatically to mock them. Then she locked the door again and pulled them both to the tapestry door. "We're running out of time! Cleo, does this go outside?"   
  
"Yes and no..."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean!?"  
  
"I..well!" Cleo stammered, still in shock to see them. There was a pounding against the main door as some guards struggled to break through.   
  
"Hurry!" Antony urged, "Someone must have saw us on the way here!"  
  
"It leads to the courtyard! We have to get out from there the normal way, but it shouldn't be trouble..."  
  
"Good, lets go!" Megara pulled the curtain back and ushured them through, giving one last worried look behind her as she thought of Hercules before running through herself. Once inside they let the tapestry fall and pushed the heavy wall back into place just as the guards burst through the door on the other side. They were shrouded in darkness, in a dank tunnel. "...good gods." Meg shivered.   
  
Cleo grabbed a torch from the wall and lit it. "I keep it here for emergencies," She explained. "You're hurt!" She gasped as the light fell across a bruise on Antony's face.   
  
He smiled. "It's nothing. I'm fine."  
  
"And you..." she turned to Meg, having noticed a slight limp in her step. "I shouldn't have left you there..."  
  
"No-" Meg protested, "It was my own fault. ...I don't know when to shut up. But we can't talk about that now. Hercules is supposed to meet us outside...hopefully. We've got the whole palace up in arms, so all bets are off!"  
  
"How will he find a way out!" Cleo yelled back as she lead the way through the tunnel.  
  
Meg and Antony didn't answer, because neither of them were very certain on that point. "...He'll find a way." Meg said, but she didn't sound too sure of herself.   
  
"I want guards on every level! Don't let them escape! Find Cleopatra immediately and bring her to me!" The pharoah was barking orders at anyone who would listen. The commotion in the dungeon hadn't taken long to spark panic, and the word of the prisoner's escape, helped along by Antony and Hercules no less, had reached the king before Meg and Antony had even reached Cleo's room. "You're highness!" The royal advisor interjected, "I think it best that we retreat to the thrown room for security purposes. If Mark Antony should find you here..."   
  
"Yes..." The pharoah nodded distractedly "Yes, I think we should..." He let his advisor lead the way, and out the window of the thrown room he watched the commotion outside below.   
  
Megara, Antony, and Cleopatra had just reached the end of the winding tunnel, that seemed to go all through the palace, only to find that their exit was being guarded by about a hundred guards who had taken up residence in the courtyard. "We'd have to be invisible to make it out this way," Antony sighed.  
  
"What about one of those doors we passed back there, Cleo?" Meg suggested, "Where do they lead?"   
  
Cleo shrugged. "All different places really. We can get to about any level of the palace, but...-oh!" She gasped as the body of a guard was dropped from somewhere above them and landed right infront of their door. Meg reached a hand over to cover Cleo's mouth as the other guards came running to aid the one that fell. "I'm betting that was Hercules...he's a few floors up," She whispered.   
  
"Alright...we'll go back for him." Antony nodded, turning back towards the tunnel and drawing his sword. Cleo bit her lip. "Cleo...you'll come back to Rome with me when this is all over?"  
  
She nodded. "Of course...I can only imagin what trouble this would cause if your people found out..." Antony gave her a sad smile and pulled her into a passionate kiss before letting her go and leading the two girls back up the tunnel. Meg knit her brows as she ran after them. She couldn't help but think of Herc and wish that he was with them. She shook her head Get a hold of yourself, he'll be fine She thought.   
  
"Stop-" Cleo pulled Antony back and stopped them at a door in the middle of the tunnel. The clashing of swords could be heard on the other side. "It's here..."  
  
Antony nodded and pushed the girls to the other side of the door, his sword at the ready as he reached cautiously to open it. "Be careful!" Cleo whispered right before Antony opened the door and slashed through a tapestry on the other side to reveal the scene. Hercules was there, a sword in each hand, fighting off 5 armed guards. Three of them turned on Antony as soon as he appeared. The surprise attack allowed Hercules to get the better of one of the guards he was fighting. Antony joined beside him, swords clashing and Herc flashed a grin at him. "Nice to see you."   
  
"Nice to be seen."   
  
"This is rediculous," Meg whispered to Cleo as they watched the fight, "There's got to be another way out of here..."  
  
"Wait...I have an idea...I just hope we can get through- the door I'm thinking of hasn't been used in years. It may be locked."   
  
Meg gave her a sarcastic glare, "Cleo...we have Hercules. We'll get through."   
  
"Oh...right." She blushed.   
  
"Can I borrow that torch?"  
  
"...um..sure."  
  
Meg grabbed the torch and ran out behind the last guard that Herc was fighting and knocked him over the head. He fell and Meg was left standing in his place. She gave Herc a lopsided smile. "Can we go now?"   
  
"Uh...heh. Yeah." 


	10. Chapter10

Oh Lawd, and update!

Chapter 10:

The four of them clamoured back inside the tunnel and shut the door behind them. "That should get us off our tails for a while," Herc said, "But they're everywhere, we haven't got too much time."

"Right. Follow me." Cleo lead the way through the darkness, all of them feeling their way since the torch had been left behind. The stone floor of the tunnel sloped up beneath them, and just when it seemed like they would never reach the end, a dusty beam of light appeared ahead.

"Ugh...how far up are we?" Meg panted, trying to catch her breath.

"...It's the North tower," Cleo explained, "This room is only used for storage, and one floor down is the thrown room and I have a secret escape near there. We'll just have to avoid my father, I doubt the guards will look up here for us." She pushed against the thick wooden door, but it wouldn't budge. "Damn. I knew it."

"Let me." Herc moved her aside gently and then used his weight to break through the door like it was nothing.

After the dust had cleared and they'd all stopped coughing they saw that behind the door was a tiny circular space lined with large stone blocks, and about halfway up the space one of the larger stones had been removed, revealing a vast storage room on the otherside. They all piled inside...and looked at Cleo. "Um...door?" Antony suggested.

"It's...it's here...I think."

Herc pushed against the walls but they wouldn't budge. "There's no door here! We've hit a dead end."

"What about the space there?...I think it goes all the way through," Antony offered, "We can climb in."

Herc raised an eyebrow at him. "I can't fit through there. Can you?"

Antony's face fell. "No...But one of the girls can."

"If there's a door we can unlock it from the other side," Cleo said.

"Good idea." Meg nodded...then raised her brows as she realized that all three of them were looking at her. "Me!?...Why me!?"

"You're the smallest. I'll hoist you up there."

"What!? Cleo's just as small as-"

"My boobs are bigger." Cleo interjected.

"Excuse me?" Meg looked down at her chest sadly.

"Come on, honey." Herc said, putting his hands out for her to step onto.

"Oh!" She glared at Cleopatra before putting her foot into Herc's hands and stepping up to grab onto the ledge of the opening. "Good thing I used to cheerlead."

Cleo snorted. "You used to cheerlead?"

Meg ignored the comment and crawled through the hole, but she suddenly stopped halfway through..."Um..."

"What's the matter?" Herc called up.

"I..." she reached her hands out the other side and pushed at the wall, but it was no use. "I'm stuck." She grumbled. "My hips...are stuck."

Herc, Antony, and Cleo exchanged glances before Herc gave a choked laugh, and then all three of them lost it.

Meg stopped struggling. "...Laughing?....You're laughing!" But this only made them laugh harder. "Hercules! I'm going to kill you!"

Antony gave a cough as he tried to surpress his laughter. "Quite a woman you've got there, Herc."

"Don't I know it- Ah- Sorry, honey." He said, still laughing, "I uh ahem It's cool. I'll get you through."

"What!? No!" But before she could protest he had given her a hard push on the backside and she fell through the other side with a crash.

Meg surpressed an aggrivated scream as she stood and dusted herself off. "THANKS ALOT!" She yelled back and then looked around...."...Holy Hera."

"What now?"

"Some 'storage room'!" It was filled with golden chests, pearls, necklaces and bracelets, huge stone cats, and golden statuetts of Egyptian Gods.

Cleo shrugged, "We've got no other place for it all."

"Yeah," Meg mumbled to herself, "Wish I had that problem."

"Meg, is there a door?" Herc yelled over.

"Um...yes! I think so. Hold on."

The three of them waited but soon heard footsteps running up the hall behind them. The guards must have found a way in. "Hurry! They know we're in here!"

"I'm trying, it's stuck!" Meg whined as she pulled hard on a lever. Herc started pushing at the wall again in no particular place. "Pull harder!"

"Oaf!" Meg gasped as the lever finally gave way and she went tumbling over backwards as the stone wall swung open. "Come on!" She stumbled to her feet over some golden coins.

"Holy Hera!" Herc echoed as they entered. Cleopatra blushed. "It's nothing, really."

Herc and Antony ignored her and pushed the wall shut again just as the guards were coming. "They know where we are- lead us to the thrown room, quick!" Antony said, grabbing Cleo's arm and hurrying them along.

"Your Highness?"

"Yes?..." The king whispered destractedly, glancing down at the palace grounds. Beyond everything seemed peaceful as night fell on his kingdom. Even the palace was quieter since the gates had been closed and the search for the prisoners had moved inside.

"Your Highness, I'm glad we have this chance to speak in private," His advisor said, turning him respectfully from the window. "I wish to express my concern about this Roman spy. It seems she has teamed with Mark Antony and Hercules. Not a simple problem to deal with."

The king shook his head. "No...but we have it contained now inside the palace. My only concern is that Cleopatra is brought to me safely."  
"I think," his advisor said, raising an eyebrow, "That you should be more concerned with submitting to the glory that is Rome."

"Submit?" The king sputtered, "Submit! I know you're not trying to suggest to me that we join with Mark Antony! After all that's happened I want to cut relations completely." He turned quickly from his advisor and towards the way the guards had gone. "What on earth is taking them so long to get her?!"

The advisor pressed on. "Cut all ties?"

"Hurry!" Cleo was in the lead with Antony's hand in hers as she pulled him along. Meg was next, and Hercules was bringing up the rear in case the guards got too close. Right now none were in sight- they had lost them again in the winding hallways of the palace. Meg stumbled and Hercules almost ran into her.  
"I can't run anymore," She groaned, "It's starting to hurt." Her back, she meant, and Herc didn't argue, he just snatched her up in his arms and kept running. It would be faster anyway.

"We're almost there-" Cleo panted as they neared the throne room.

"Yes. Cut all ties!" The king turned on him. "You're beginning to sound like Cleopatra! Remember who you work for!"

His advisor glared at him as his hand reached behind him to pull a knife from his belt. "I am remembering for whom I work." The Pharoah's eyes seemed to glow with rage as his advisor approaged and grabbed him by the shirt.

"For the rebel force of Rome!" He declared as he raised his dagger and plunged it into the King's heart just as Cleo and the others were coming to the doorway.

"DADDY!" Cleo screamed and ran to her dead father's side, and before the advisor could do anything about it Mark Antony's strong hands had grasped the sides of his head and twisted his neck.


	11. Chapter 11

Meg, Queen of the Nile

Disclaimer: Hercules and Megara are not mine, neither is Phil and Pegasus. I do however, own the plot line that you are reading, the drawings that go along with a few of the chapters, and the Egyptian and Roman characters. So...there's that. Don't steal kids.

To my readers: Uh, yeah so it's been a while since my last update, but this story has taken me actually a few years to complete, and it will be totally completed in the next two or three chapters, most of which is already written. So, sorry about the big lags, but YAY! Cause it's almost done. I know this chapter doesn't have much action, but we gotta wrap up somewhere :) Hope ye like it. ((Oh, and PS, i did this on my lap top 'WordPad' which has no spell check.))

Chapter 11:

The dull thud of the advisor's body hitting the floor was met with a stunned silence from all four of the wittnesses. Antony stood over the body in a tensed stance, his eyes on Cleopatra as she knelt crying beside her dead father. Meg and Herc stayed back, Meg with a hand seemingly perminantly clamped over her mouth in shock.

"Daddy," Cleo whispered, her hands clutching at the bloody wound on his chest as if she were trying to pull it closed herself.

"Cleo..." Antony finally spoke and moved cautiously over to her and pulled her hands away by the wrists. Cleo was trembling, but she turned quickly to Antony and let him embrace her and bring her to her feet. "Cleo, I'm so sorry...this is all my fault."

Meg walked a little closer, her instincts wanting her to comfort her friend, but her mind telling her it might not be a good moment. Hercules had circled around the scene, assessing the bodies of the two dead men.

"He was a rebel, Cleo, I never organized any violence against Egypt, I swear," Antony was saying now.

Cleo shook her head. "No, Antony." She sniffled hard and wiped her tears on the sleeve of her dress. "It's both our faults." She moved a step away from him, standing on her own now. "And we have to make it right."

Meg furrowed her brows as she watched Cleo and saw the change that came over her. If there was anything left of the rebelious child, Meg couldn't find it. Cleopatra bend down to her father again, reaching, at first for what Meg thought was the dagger that lay next to him on the floor, but instead she picked up his crown, the tall white and red symbol of upper and lower Egypt, and set it on her own head. Then she bent to kiss her father's forehead and close his eyes as they all watched in silence.

Footsteps of the persuing guards were trudging down the corridor towards them. "We have to go," Herc offered gently.

"No more running, Hercules. I will take care of all of this."

"But they'll think you did this! We're a couple of fugitives, they'll never believe--"

Cleo put her hand up to silence him. Herc stopped talking, but he pulled Meg over next to him and kept his hand by the hilt of his sword just in case. The guards swarmed in through the open doors, and stopped in their tracks so quickly that the men behind them nearly lost their balance. Before they could ask what happened Cleopatra motioned towards the dead advisor. "This man has murdered my father. He belonged to the rebel forces. I want you to find my father's counsil at once and escort them here. The other half of you will dispose of the body properly and bring my father for mumification."

There was a long silence in which Meg and Herc both thought they would have to make a run for it, but to their surprise the guards began to do exactly what their new queen had bade them.

After they left with the bodies it wasn't long before more entered with the Pharoah's counsil that Cleo had requested and they began a heated discussion of the events of the last two days. Herc took Meg's hand and lead her closer to where Antony and Cleopatra were talking, very diplomatically with the counsil. Herc's grip on Meg's hand felt unnaturally tense. Once all the running had stopped he was just too happy to have found her to let her out of his sight. And Meg, as tired and hurt as she was, could only lean against him nervously and return his grasp. It wasn't until her grip loosened and she put nearly all of her weight on him that he realized he might be holding her too tight.

"You alright?" Herc whispered, looking down at her as if he was seeing her for the first time.

Meg looked up with tired eyes. "My back hurts- I'm just so tired." She whispered back.

Herc nodded. "Come on... it seems our criminal status has been cleared... we might be able to get some help, huh?" He gave her a reassuring smile and took her forward to politely interrupt the counsil. Cleo was in the center with tears in her eyes again as she re-counted what had happened. Antony excused himself and broke away to speak with them.

"I'm sorry, guys...it looks like this mess is going to take a while to sort out."

"What's going to happen?" Meg asked.

Antony sighed and ran a hand through his hair, stopping to rub the back of his neck, and reminding Meg of the gesture that Hercules used when he was nervous. "Well," he continued, "politics really. They've got to crown Cleo as the Queen officially. She's the only heir and right now Egypt is Pharoah-less."

Meg knit her brows and nodded. "And what about you?"

Antony shook his head. "We're hoping to be married within the hour and put alot of this conflict to rest. But these things take time... the counsil has to agree, our story has to be told, announcements must be made. And the quicker we can get to Rome the better. I'm afraid of what the rebels will do while I'm gone. Especially if they discover the Pharoah was assassinated."

Herc nodded. "And what about us?"

Antony gave a pause in which he looked the two of them over, then said, "You two have done more than your share. Especially you, Megara." He knit his eyebrows as he referenced her back. "I'm afraid you can't leave the castle, but I'll have someone escort you to a room. I'd go with you myself, but... I don't think Cleo and I should be separated for a while."

Herc gave Antony a firm pat on the arm. "No, no. Stay with her, of course."

"We'll be fine on our own," Meg added.

Antony hesitated, then nodded and asked someone to escort them. "I'll come for you when this is all over."


	12. Chapter 12

Meg, Queen of the Nile

Disclaimer: Hercules and Megara are not mine, neither is Phil and Pegasus. I do however, own the plot line that you are reading, the drawings that go along with a few of the chapters, and the Egyptian and Roman characters. So...there's that. Don't steal kids.

Chapter 12:

Hercules emerged from the washroom in their luxurious suite to find a table full of food, a new pair of clothes layed out on the satee, and his fiance in tears on the bed.

"Meg, sweetheart, what's wrong?" He sat next to her and gently ran a hand through her hair, massaging her neck a little.

"I'm sorry," Meg sniffled. "It's just...I'm just very tired. I can't ... sigh "

"It's ok..." Herc noticed that Meg hadn't yet changed into the clean dress that was layed out for her, and the one she was wearing had lines of dried blood on the back. Herc ran his fingers ever so gently over the dress. "...ok..." Then taking both hands he ripped it from the top down, revealing the deep slashes underneath. Some of the blood had dried to the fibers of the fabric and Meg winced when it was torn away. "Dear gods." Herc sighed at the look of her. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "This might hurt a little."

He brought a cloth and some warm water and began cleaning her wounds, pausing every so often to kiss her.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner...I didn't know where you were...I should never have left you alone."

Meg shook her head. "It's not your fault. This whole stupid scandel...I don't want to think about it."

Herc leant down and kissed her again. "You're done here...why don't you go wash up a bit and change into your new dress there." Meg did as Herc suggested and felt much better for it. The two of them sat at the table and tried to enjoy the food and comfortable surroundings, but too much was going through their minds.

"It's already been over an hour," Meg sighed as she nibbled on a grape. "I wonder what's taking them so long."

"Well I've never really liked politics...for the very reason that it takes too long to get anything done." Herc made a face at the thought.

"Still...I'm just worried about them. Too much could go wrong."

Herc nodded and got up, disguarding his half eaten plate of food.

"Where are you going?"

"No where I just... I'm gonna pace. I hate feeling useless."

Meg gave a gentle laugh and got up to stop his pacing. "Don't. You're not useless. I need you here. And besides, you look exhausted."

"Well, I'll agree to that, I haven't slept in almost two days."

Meg nodded. "I thought as much. Come on, let's rest a while. They'll come for us when everything's settled." She lead him back to the bed where they lay down together and were both soon asleep.

A loud knock on the door awoke Meg from what she felt like had been an awful nightmare. The pain shooting through her back told her it had all been real. She got up, noticing that Herc was no longer next to her, and opened the door. A proper looking man on the other side informed her that Hercules was already downstairs and that she should join them. Meg slipped on the pair of fancy slippers that were in the suite and follwed her escort downstairs to the thrown room. The scene was only slightly less caotic than when she'd left. Cleopatra and Hercules approached her as she entered.

"We're to leave immediately for Rome," Cleo said, "Antony and I together to stop the Rebels. We have guards patroling the streets to arrest anyone suspicious but word may have already leaked out and I'm sure most have fled."

"Is your life in danger?" Meg asked bluntly.

"Not as long as I can help it." Antony approached the group now. "I'm sure she's told you, we're leaving as soon as the boat's ready."

"You're welcome to stay, Meg. We certainly owe it to you both."

Meg and Herc looked at eachother and back at Cleo and Antony. "Um...no thank you, I think we've about overstayed our welcome."

Antony laughed. "We thought as much. I've already had your things brought over to your room. They should arrive shortly."

"I'm so sorry- for everything." Cleo sighed.

Hercules shrugged. "I guess we never were very good at taking a vacation."

Meg rolled her eyes. "Understatement of the century."

Cleo gave a soft laugh, but Meg could tell she was very troubled. Who wouldn't be in her position? And Herc, being the big lug that he is, grabbed her up into a big bear hug. It was worth it just to see the shocked look on Cleo's face before she hugged him back. "Thank you," she whispered. Then she turned to Meg. "Megara, you did more than I could have ever asked of you. You've been...well, you've been a friend to me..."

Meg blushed. "Nah. I was mostly savin' my own ass." She gave Cleo a smirk and the two of them embraced.

"I hope I'll see you again."

"You can plan on it...maybe in Greece next time."

Cleo made a face. "Alright...but I get to wear my own clothes."

"It's a deal," Meg laughed. She turned to Antony then. "Antony. It's been fun scheming with you." She kissed his cheek. "And that's all the action you'll be getting out of me. Got it?"

Now it was Antony's turn to blush. "Yeah. Got it." Herc and Cleo looked puzzled, but before they could ask they were interrupted by someone telling them that the ship was ready to leave.

((Ok, sorry if that chapter was boring, guys. Next chapter will be up soon.))


	13. Chapter 13

Meg, Queen of the Nile

Disclaimer: Hercules and Megara are not mine, neither is Phil and Pegasus. I do however, own the plot line that you are reading, the drawings that go along with a few of the chapters, and the Egyptian and Roman characters. So...there's that. Don't steal kids.

Note: Hey guys, I just want to thank everyone for reading this, and for being SO PATIENT in the past coughs 5 years coughs that it has taken me to write this baby. I know it's been unkind! But thanks to all the reviewers, and I hope you like this last and final chapter of Meg, Queen of the Nile! Oh, and I'd like to ask you guys' opinion. Review and let me know if you think an epilogue is needed? Thanx : )

On with the story!

Chapter 13:

Morning broke to find the four passengers of the Anubus sailing on calm waters in the middle of the Mediterranean. Traveling with them was the new Queen's counsel, and a good portion of the Egyptian army.

"Are you sure this doesn't seem too threatening?" Meg asked as she stood on the starboard side with her arms folded in front of her. The breeze was just cool enough to ward off the oncoming heat, and the sun rising in front of her gave off an orange and purple glow on the horizon. Hercules put an arm around her.

"It's not threatening…it's just for protection," He said, gesturing to the two ships that flanked them, both of which were full of soldiers. "Besides, if Rome did decide to attack, they'd have just as many or more rebel force than this."

Meg shivered. It didn't sound like a comforting thought either way. Antony and Cleopatra joined the two of them on deck. They both looked a bit more rested, although still strained, and Cleopatra had already been given a fresh coat of make-up at this early hour. For once, though, Meg was glad she didn't have to be bothered by handmaidens painting her face before dawn. The four of them stood together watching the sunrise for a while before Antony spoke.

"We're going to switch ships along with the counsel and let the soldiers take you two home on this one."

Meg looked surprised. "That's a lot of testosterone."

"Well," Antony shrugged, "It's the least we can do. Besides, a little extra protection always helps."

That got a laugh from Meg. "I'm sure it does. You know what they say about sailors."

Hercules groaned at the embarrassing comment and got a quick thwap in the stomach from Meg. "Oh, you should be used to it by now!"

Herc managed a grin and was about to retort when a horn sounded from overhead. The four of them rushed to the upper deck and peered out over the seemingly endless ocean. For the longest time they didn't see anything, and then five ships coming toward them appeared like magic on the horizon. "There!" Herc pointed.

Antony looked very nervous and ran quickly to get a spy glass. "They're the Roman Navy forces!"

"Yeah, and they're coming right at us," Meg said.

"No, look." Antony handed her the spy glass and guided her to one very important detail. "See that? They're flying Caesar's flag!"

Meg squinted at the black flag with a gold laurel leaf and an insignia printed on it: S.P.Q.R. "What does it mean?"

"It means the rebels haven't corrupted the government! It means my orders still stand!" Andony was practically jumping up and down now. "It means the popular senate of Rome!"

Meg laughed. "And that's good!"

"Yes, it's good!"

Cleo squealed and jumped into Antony's arms. "It's not too late!"

"Quick," Antony said, putting Cleo down, "fly our flags in a greeting. We'll get close and see exactly what's what." The grew did as they were told. "Don't pull along side them unless I give the order." He turned back to Herc and Meg. "There's still a risk, but I think I can straighten it out without much trouble."

Cleo put a hand on his shoulder. "I think we'd better part ways now so it doesn't look suspicious."

"Yes, I think you're right." He gave Herc and Meg a final good bye before going to give more orders to the crew. Cleo stayed behind until the ships were lined up and ready to board.

"Sure you don't want to stay and fill in for me every now and again?"

Meg laughed. "No, I think I'll pass. Not sure I would make a very good Queen."

Cleo frowned. "I'm not so sure about it either…"

"Oh Cleo, no! From what I've seen you'll do just fine. I have faith in you."

"Really?" She looked like she would cry again, but Meg hugged her tight.

"Yes, really."

"Come on, darling." Antony appeared again and took Cleo's hand. "Let's go stop a war."

Meg smiled and leaned back against Herc as they watched the two of them cross the plank to the other ship. Then their ship turned and began heading in the other direction. The sun was high now, and Herc and Meg ran to the side to wave to Cleo and Antony.

"Good luck!" Herc yelled.

Antony put his arms out dramatically and yelled back, "It'll be the finest bit of diplomacy the world has ever seen!"

They both laughed and watched till Cleo and Antony were just two specks on the deck of the ship. Hercules put an arm around his fiancé and sighed. They were finally headed back to Greece. Meg turned to him and smiled as she slipped her arms around him, returning his thought exactly. "Some vacation, Wonderboy. I shudder to think how we'll out-do ourselves next time."

Herc gave her an evil grin. "Yeah, just wait till the honeymoon!"

Meg couldn't help but laugh and give him a playful nudge.

"So." Herc smiled back as he brushed his fingers against her cheek and watched the sun play across her face. "Is this the part where the hero kisses his damsel and they sail off into the sunset?"

Meg leaned in close so her nose was almost touching his. "Yeah," she whispered, "I think we're at that part."

THE END


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